Pebb Enterprises snaps up former Gander Mountain site in Palm Beach Gardens

Pebb Enterprises just bought the shuttered Gander Mountain store in Palm Beach Gardens for $2.6 million, after taking on at least $13.77 million in debt and foreclosing on the underlying collateral.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities trust Gan Palm Beach Lessor Corp. sold the 120,000-square-foot retail building at 100 Gander Way to Pebb, after paying $29.8 million on the 13.2-acre property in 2012, property records show.

A couple of months later, the company secured a $15.3 million loan from Prudential Mortgage Capital Company LLC.

Last year, the outdoor and sporting goods retailer closed dozens of its stores nationwide in an attempt to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its store in Palm Beach Gardens was one of them. Its owner was hit with a nearly $14 million foreclosure suit earlier this year.

Eric Hochman, chief development officer at Pebb, said the firm is targeting commercial tenants that may be looking to expand in Palm Beach County to fill the building. Features include at least 1,200 square feet of linear frontage along I-95, he said.

Pebb has been busy acquiring commercial assets in South Florida. In June, it paid $42 million for ADT’s global headquarters in Boca Raton, with more than five years left on its 171,489-square-foot lease.

Amid increasing competition from online retailers and shifting consumer trends, major retail giants like Toys “R” Us, Sears, Macy’s, Brookstone and JCPenney have closed more than a hundred locations nationwide.